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Spray Drier Experiment: ENCH 371 Chemical Engineering Laboratories 2005
Spray Drier Experiment: ENCH 371 Chemical Engineering Laboratories 2005
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Atomiser:
The only safety interlock for the atomiser is with the Main Switch located on the Spray Drier Control
Panel. Thus the compressed air hose MUST be detached from the atomiser before the atomising unit is
removed from the chamber roof, and certainly before the chamber roof is opened.
Feed Pump:
The feed pump can also be started with the minimum of the Main Switch being on. Care must thus be
taken to start the drying process in the specific order indicated in the Start Up Procedure
section of the operating procedure, or flooding of the drying chamber could occur. This could
lead to wall deposits or blockages in the pipe-work.
Check that the atomiser wheel rotates freely and the silencer is mounted on the rotary atomiser.
Check that the atomiser is properly mounted on the chamber roof and is not screwed down or
restricted in any way from easy removal.
Check the mounting of the feed and compressed air hose (from the supply, and to the atomiser).
Check that the glass sample collection jar under the cyclone is fastened securely, clean and dry.
Ensure that the butterfly valve into the sample collection jar is open.
Ensure that the compressed air is turned on, and the supply is pressurised to approximately 6 bar.
Do not open any doors or remove any covers while the equipment is in operation.
START UP PROCEDURE
1. Switch power on the isolation switch located on the wall to the left of the Control Panel.
2. Switch power on by turning the Main Switch on the Control Panel.
3. Check that the Chamber Roof is fully shut (by pressing the Release Chamber Roof (V2) and Chamber
Roof Down () buttons at the same time).
4. Open the cyclone exhaust butterfly valve lever pointing right i.e. in the direction of desired flow.
5. Start the Exhaust Fan.
6. Turn on the chamber observation light.
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7. Set the inlet temperature controller (Chamber Inlet Process Gas Temperature E1) to the desired
temperature 200C using and arrows.
8. Turn on the Heater. When running with a closed damper or if any leaks occur in the system the heater
will immediately cease operation (you can check that by closing the cyclone butterfly valve). Also,
the outlet temperature controller turns off the heater if the outlet temperature exceeds 120C.
9. Start the rotary atomiser by turning the knob anticlockwise on the pneumatic control panel for the
spray drier slowly (approximately 0.5 bar at a time) to full speed at 6 bar. The air pressure indicated
on the pressure gauge (E73 Atomiser Air Supply Pressure), located on the Spray Drier Pneumatic
Panel, must be kept constant in order to obtain a homogeneous atomisation. Decreasing speed results
in increasing particle size and can cause wet chamber deposits. If a deep buzzing sound is heard the
atomiser must be stopped immediately and the bearings must be checked.
10. Switch on the feed pump (Feed Pump P1) from the Spray Drier Control Panel. Check that the power
switch located on the back of the pump is also switched on. Ensure that the pump is set up to operate
with rotation in a clockwise (CW) direction. Insert the feed supply tube into the pumping mechanism
on the front face of the pump. Close the front panel. Set the pump rpm to 5 and start the pump until
the water level reaches the top of spray drier then stop the pump and wait until the outlet temperature
reaches 80 C.
11. When the outlet temperature reaches 80C on the outlet indicator push the pump Start button again.
This will pass water to the atomiser. It is recommended that the rpm be slowly ramped up to the
desired operating flow rate (for water about 16 rpm) as the drying chamber continues to heat up until
the required outlet temperature is stable. An outlet temperature of not less than 85C should be aimed
for. This will prevent moisture condensing in the system.
12. Switch from water to the milk solution, and when it reaches the drier, increase the pump speed so that
the total quantity of water being fed to the drier remains the same (work out the new rpm required to
keep the evaporative load constant before you do this step).
13. You can adjust the outlet temperature by changing the feed pump speed. Adjust using and rpm
buttons (measure the diameter of the container and the change of the height during certain time to
calculate the flow rate kg/hr you need to know the density of the milk solution).
14. Bang with the hammer, on the Hammering Point located on the cone of the drying chamber, to
dislodge any residues located on the inner chamber walls. This procedure may need to be carried out
regularly throughout the drying process, or just at the end of the operation depending on the extent of
residue build-up exhibited by the process. It is important not to let residues build up, especially near
the air inlet of the drying chamber as smouldering could be initiated.
15. Examine the dried product frequently for specks of burnt, charred or discoloured product. Stop the
drier immediately if any damaged product is found, and clean the drier thoroughly.
16. If necessary exchange the sample collection jar with the damper closed. Preheat the new glass sample
collection jar to prevent condensation occurring during the drying process.
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MEASUREMENTS
(Ms) , (Ts)i , (hs)i , (Ws)i
(Ta)2
Ms
(Ta)i
(Ta)2
(Ta)o
Ts
ha
hs
Wa
Ws
Nearby the filter, measure the ambient temperature and RH to obtain the air humidity (W a)i at the inlet
condition. The air humidity (Wa)i remains constant after heating the air to (T a)i = 200C because there is
no moisture added or removed during this heating process (sensible heating).
At the exit of the exhaust pipe, measure the temperature (T a)o and RH to obtain the air humidity (W a)o and
measure the air speed to obtain the air volumetric flow rate from which you can obtain the air mass flow
rate (Ma).
Calculate the solid mass flow rate (Ms) from the concentration and the solution feed rate (obtained from
measuring the change of the level with respect to the time).
Calculate the humidity (water contents) in the milk solution entering to the chamber (W s)i
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ANALYSIS
1. Plot the process on Mollier Chart.
2. Dry product balance:
Compare the amount of dry milk powder collected in the jar at the end of the experiment with the amount
entered during the process. Discuss why if there any discrepancy.
3. Moisture balance:
Compare the amount of water flow entered into the process (taken from the milk solution) against the
increase of the humidity of the hot air stream. Discuss why if there any discrepancy.
Moisture entering the in feed
= Ms (Ws)i
= Ma (Wa)i
= Ms (Ws)o
= Ma (Wa)o
= Ma (ha)i
= Ms (hs)i
= Ma (ha)b
= Ms (hs)o
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The specific enthalpy of the feed (hs)i as it enters the atomiser is the sum of the enthalpies of the dry solid
and the water contents:
(hs)i = cS (Ts)i + (Ws)i cw (Ts)i
where: cS = specific heat of dry solid milk powder [kJ/kgC]
cw = specific heat of water ........................[kJ/kgC]
(Ts)i = temperature C of milk solution at inlet
The specific enthalpy of the solid product (hs)o = cs (Ts)o
The specific enthalpy of the air (h a)i as it enters the drier and (h a)o as it exit to atmosphere can be
determined from Mollier Chart.
5. Efficiency calculations
Spray drier design is directed towards achieving desired-product properties at the highest possible
efficiency. Calculate the highest possible thermal and evaporative efficiencies obtained from the
experiment. Are these acceptable? If not, discuss why.
Thermal efficiency:
The thermal efficiency of a spray drier depends upon the operation temperatures. Overall thermal
efficiency overall is defined as the fraction of total heat supplied to the drier used in the evaporation
process. It can be approximated to the relation:
overall
where T1
T1 T2 ad
100
T1 T0
T2ad
T0
= ambient temperature
Evaporative Efficiency:
Is defined as the ratio of the actual evaporative capacity to the capacity obtained in the ideal case of
exhausting air at saturation:
evaporative
T1 T2 ad
100
T1 Tsaturation
Where Tsaturation = the adiabatic saturation temperature corresponding to the inlet temperature T1.
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EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
Emergency Shut Down other than in the case of fire or explosion
1. Turn off the Main Switch on the Spray Dryer Control Panel. Emergency shutdown may result in
damage to the heater elements.
2. Wait for approximately 3 minutes for the atomiser to stop and visually check through the inspection
window that the atomiser wheel has stopped completely.
3. Wait till the plant is cooled down before opening the roof, as the surfaces may be hot.
4. Do not touch the heater body as the surface temperature may increase drastically after emergency
shutdown.
5. Ensure the pressurised air supply to the atomiser is reduced to zero (the knob on the Pneumatic Panel
(PCP) is turned fully clockwise) before restarting the Spray Dryer.
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PRE-LAB EXERCISE
1 kg of milk solution 50% mass concentration at 15C was pumped at a flow rate of 4.8 kg/h in a spray
drier. At the end of the experiment 300 g dried milk powder produced in the collecting jar. The inlet
process temperature was Ti 200C, and chamber T2 100C.
Ambient conditions: 18C and 50% RH,
Exhaust exit conditions: 70C and 20% RH.
The exhaust pipe diameter is 5 cm where the air exits with a speed of 10 m/s
Plot the following drying process on Mollier chart showing the different air states: ambient, start of
drying, end of drying and exhaust state.
Important Difinitions:
Relative humidity (RH)
It is usually expressed as a percentage, which is a measure of how close to saturation condition the airstate is (it gives an indication as to whether the air can carry more moisture or not). It can be measured
directly using a humidity-measuring device.
Humidity (W)
It is the moisture contents (water vapour present) in one kilogram of dry air [kg water/kgair] It can be
obtained from the Mollier Chart at the intersection of the temperature line and the relative humidity line.
References:
1. Spray Drying: An Introduction to Principles, Operational Practice and Applications / Masters, K.
(Keith) 1972.
2. Spray Drying Handbook / Masters, K. (Keith) 5th edition, 1991.
3. Commissioning and Characterisation of the Niro TM Mobile Minor Spray Dryer / final year project
thesis / Redstone, J.E. (1999).
Revised 22 Mar 05
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